The Beginning or the End is a 1947 film about the development of the atomic bomb in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

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It was directed by Norman Taurog

Norman Taurog

Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director, and screenwriter.Between 1920 and 1968, Taurog directed over 140 films, and directed Elvis Presley in more movies than any other director...

 and starred Brian Donlevy

Brian Donlevy

Brian Donlevy was an Irish-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste and The Great McGinty...

 and Hume Cronyn

Hume Cronyn

Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...

. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...

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Plot

The film dramatizes the creation of the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...

 and the subsequent bombing of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

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Accuracy

The technical details of atomic processes and the bomb's design are wildly inaccurate by intention; these details were highly classified and the true nature of the weapon could not even be hinted at. One inaccuracy, independent of necessary military secrecy, is the portrayal of anti-aircraft shells bursting around the aircraft on the bombing run. The historical and political details are also inaccurate, for propaganda purposes.

Production

A number of experts from Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...

 and Los Alamos

Los Alamos, New Mexico

Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...

 acted as technical advisors: Dr. H.T. Wensel, Dr. Edward R. Tompkins, Dr. David Hawkins, and W. Bradford Shank. Of particular importance is the role Leslie Groves

Leslie Groves

Lieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves, Jr. was a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb during World War II. As the son of a United States Army chaplain, Groves lived at a...

 played:

"Groves also played a significant role in the development of the MGM film "The Beginning or the End." Indeed, after MGM won White House approval for the project, one of its first moves was to hire Groves as a primary consultant -- for the then-unheard-of-fee of $10,000, MGM was authorized to depict Groves' role in the film and Groves agreed to offer his "best cooperation" in the production of the picture."

Military technical advisors included Colonel William A. Consodine and Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Sweeney

Charles Sweeney

Major General Charles W. Sweeney was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and the pilot who flew the "Fat Man" atomic bomb to Nagasaki on August 9, 1945...

, pilot of the second atom bomb attack on Nagasaki.

External links

Movie poster:
http://www.smecc.org/afrs%20korea/d9_1.JPG